Diane Coyle highlights the harm algorithms inflict on our society, when abused by rogue actors. As computers have become more central to our lives, algorithms have become increasingly important. An algorithm is a sequence of logical instructions for carrying out a task. In computing, algorithms are needed to design computer programmes. They make use of data to control flow of programmes and make decisions according to the order in which actions are carried out in a process. The incredible variety of complicated tasks our computers can carry out are down to these invisible, mathematical step-by-step procedures, most often expressed in computer code. And they give fast, accurate answers to a range of complex problems. But when programmes pass into code and code passes into algorithms, and then algorithms start to create new algorithms, the outcome could become unpredictable, which could lead to fatal consequences. The author says algorithms “are as biased as the data they feed on. And all data are biased.” In a relationship between humans and AI systems, many are concerned about the danger that may be lurking inside the machine-learning algorithms. The problem of bias in machine learning has become more significant as “algorithmic decision-making spreads to a wider range of policymaking areas,” and as more people without a deep technical understanding are tasked with deploying it. “By taking existing structures and processes to their logical extremes,” AI is “forcing us to confront the kind of society we have created.” What is unsettling is that few people are making an effort to identify or correct it. Perhaps we see computers as a benign tool, and that AI is “as infallible a version of homo economicus as one can imagine. It is a rationally calculating, logically consistent, ends-oriented agent capable of achieving its desired outcomes with finite computational resources.” Robert Mercer, a Trump financial backer and Cambridge Analytica’s investor, financed the data analytics firm that went on to claim a major role in the 2016 Leave campaign for Britain’s vote on its EU membership, and later became a key figure in digital operations during Trump’s election campaign, was a pioneer in AI and machine translation. He helped invent algorithmic trading, which replaced hedge fund managers with computer programmes. Ironically, Mercer’s understanding of “classical utilitarianism, which aims to secure the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people” had done his country more harm than good. Bringing big data and social media to an established military methodology – “information operations” – he turned on the US electorate whose psychological profiles helped find and influence voters. Algorithms improve computer-based personality judgments. "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." That quote is most commonly attributed to Mark Twain. But in reality, it's pretty hard to verify who said it first – which only illustrates the point. False news is more novel than true news, and people are more responsive to fake news and they are ready to share the false much faster and more widely. With the onset of social media, false stories now spread at lightning speed, reaching unprecedented numbers of people in record time. In politics fake news is a phenomenon that poses a serious threat to all democracies’ health, As algorithms can make bad decisions that have serious impacts on people’s lives, calls for a third party body to ensure transparency and fairness are loud. Since technology companies are so secretive about how their algorithms work – to prevent other firms from copying them – they rarely disclose any detailed information about how AIs have made particular decisions. An artificial intelligence watchdog should be set up to make sure people are not discriminated against by the automated computer systems that make important decisions about their lives. Apart from technological oversight, legislation is urgently needed to secure the “ethical foundations of our societies.”

"...Apart from technological oversight, legislation is urgently needed to secure the “ethical foundations of our societies...." Um. Yours is a Good suggestion 😊!Why not build a black box loaded with new AI programs to write down legislative steps too so that legislators can take longer lunch and golf breaks?

Nowadays, writers heap uncontrolled praise on AI for its "infinite " capabilities 😊. But, they forget that intelligence in today's AI system [ no doubt very powerful ] is still a subset of human intelligence in ethical, creative , moral, intuitional, artistic domains....!

I would love to see a study where economists create a program that makes purchasing decisions as a "rational person" and then compare that to observations of what people actually do (or if a survey is used, what people say they would do). This would show how often people are making "rational decisions."

If we could show that people generally DON'T make decisions that a "rational person" would, would we then need to adjust a lot of assumptions we make about the efficacy of financial tools/metrics?

New Comment

Pin comment to this paragraph

After posting your comment, you’ll have a ten-minute window to make any edits. Please note that we moderate comments to ensure the conversation remains topically relevant. We appreciate well-informed comments and welcome your criticism and insight. Please be civil and avoid name-calling and ad hominem remarks.

Log in/Register

Please log in or register to continue. Registration is free and requires only your email address.

Log in

Register

Emailrequired

PasswordrequiredRemember me?

Please enter your email address and click on the reset-password button. If your email exists in our system, we'll send you an email with a link to reset your password. Please note that the link will expire twenty-four hours after the email is sent. If you can't find this email, please check your spam folder.